Relationship dossier
Colombia
Cuba
Relationship assessment
Peace-process cooperation anchors Colombia–Cuba relations, alongside tensions over ELN negotiations and extradition requests.
Colombia toward Cuba
+30Colombia engaged Cuba as a host and guarantor in peace negotiations with the FARC and later the ELN. After the ELN’s 2019 attack and the collapse of talks, Colombia’s government sought the extradition of ELN negotiators in Cuba, creating a serious dispute. Colombia subsequently renewed engagement with Cuba in peace negotiations.
Cuba toward Colombia
+35Cuba hosted the Colombian government’s negotiations with the FARC and served as a guarantor for talks with the ELN. After the 2019 breakdown of ELN negotiations, Cuba declined Colombia’s extradition request for ELN negotiators, citing the protocols for the talks.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a durable, concrete basis in Cuba’s role as a venue and guarantor for Colombian peace negotiations. That cooperation has been accompanied by a significant dispute over ELN negotiators and extradition after the 2019 collapse of talks; later renewed engagement in peace negotiations supports a generally cooperative but qualified relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Colombia and Cuba have cooperated substantially on Colombian peace processes. Cuba hosted negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC and later served as a guarantor for talks with the ELN. Relations became contentious after the 2019 ELN attack in Colombia and the breakdown of those talks, particularly over Cuba’s refusal to extradite ELN negotiators under the talks’ protocols. Colombia’s subsequent governments again engaged Cuba in peace negotiations.
Areas of tension
- Colombia’s extradition request for ELN negotiators in Cuba after the 2019 breakdown of talks, and Cuba’s refusal under the talks’ protocols.
Key developments
Cuba hosted negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC, which concluded with a peace agreement.
Following the breakdown of ELN talks after an attack in Colombia, the Colombian government sought the extradition of ELN negotiators in Cuba; Cuba declined under the talks’ protocols.
Colombia renewed peace negotiations with the ELN in Cuba, with Cuba serving as a guarantor.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of broader bilateral cooperation are unclear.
- The durability of cooperation on peace negotiations depends on the status of talks with Colombian armed groups.